Dead Irish: A Dismas Hardy Novel

In his new life as a bartender at the Little Shamrock, Dismas Hardy is just hoping for a little peace. He's left both the police force and his law career behind. Unfortunately it's not as easy to leave behind the memory of a shattering personal loss - but for the time being, he can always take the edge off with a stiff drink and a round of darts.

Guilt

Mark Dooher is a prosperous San Francisco attorney and a prominent Catholic, the last person anyone would suspect of a brutal crime. But Dooher, a paragon of success and a master of all he touches, is about to be indicted for murder. Charged with savagely killing his own wife, Dooher is fighting for his reputation and his life in a high-profile case that is drawing dozens of lives into its wake.

A Certain Justice

Somewhere in the once-placid streets of San Francisco, a young man is on the run, charged by the media with a crime he didn't commit, hounded by demagogues, hunted by a desperate police department. One cop knows that Kevin Shea is innocent of a brutal racial murder. An ambitious politician will use Shea for her own ends. And a down-and-out lawyer is all that stands between Kevin Shea and an even more atrocious crime. For when there's no law left, justice is the only hope.

Damage

The Curtlees are a powerful force in San Francisco, unscrupulous billionaires who’ve lined every important pocket in the Bay Area in pursuit of their own ascent. So when the family’s heir, Ro Curtlee, was convicted of rape and murder a decade ago, the fallout for those who helped to bring him to justice was swift and uncompromising. The jury foreman was fired from his job and blacklisted in his industry. The lead prosecutor was pushed off the fast track, her dreams of becoming district attorney dashed.

The Suspect

When Dr. Caryn Dryden is found floating dead in her hot tub, homicide inspector Devin Juhle targets a suspect close to home: her husband, Stuart Gorman. After all, Stuart recently asked for a divorce...and he stands to gain millions in insurance. His alibi - that he was at his cabin on Echo Lake that weekend - doesn't keep him out of hot water. But maybe a shrewd attorney will.

The Hunt Club: A Novel

A federal judge is murdered, found shot to death in his home - together with the body of his mistress. The crime grips San Francisco. To homicide inspector Devin Juhle, it first looks like a simple case of a wife's jealousy and rage. But Juhle's investigation reveals that the judge had powerful enemies...some of whom may have been willing to kill to prevent him from meddling in their affairs.

The Wrong Side of Goodbye: A Harry Bosch Novel, Book 21

Harry Bosch is California's newest private investigator. He doesn't advertise, he doesn't have an office, and he's picky about who he works for, but it doesn't matter. His chops from 30 years with the LAPD speak for themselves. Soon one of Southern California's biggest moguls comes calling. The reclusive billionaire has less than six months to live and a lifetime of regrets. He hires Bosch to find out whether he has an heir.

Escape Clause: A Virgil Flowers Novel, Book 9

The first storm comes from, of all places, the Minnesota zoo. Two large and very rare Amur tigers have vanished from their cage, and authorities are worried sick that they've been stolen for their body parts. Traditional Chinese medicine prizes those parts for home remedies, and people will do extreme things to get what they need. Some of them are a great deal more extreme than others - as Virgil is about to find out.

The Black Echo: Harry Bosch Series, Book 1

For LAPD homicide cop Harry Bosch - hero, maverick, nighthawk - the body in the drainpipe at Mulholland Dam is more than another anonymous statistic. This one is personal. The dead man, Billy Meadows, was a fellow Vietnam "tunnel rat" who fought side by side with him in a nightmare underground war that brought them to the depths of hell.

No Man's Land: John Puller Series

John Puller's mother disappeared nearly 30 years ago. Despite an intensive search and investigation, she was never seen again. But new allegations have come to light suggesting that Puller's father - now suffering from dementia and living in a VA hospital - may have murdered his wife. Puller is officially barred from working on the case and faces a potential court-martial if he disobeys the order, but he knows he can't sit this investigation out.

The Whistler

Lacy Stoltz is an investigator for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct. She is a lawyer, not a cop, and it is her job to respond to complaints dealing with judicial misconduct. After nine years with the board, she knows that most problems are caused by incompetence, not corruption. But a corruption case eventually crosses her desk. A previously disbarred lawyer is back in business with a new identity. He now goes by the name Greg Myers, and he claims to know of a Florida judge who has stolen more money than all other crooked judges combined.

Damaged: A Rosato & DiNunzio Novel

Ten-year-old Patrick O'Brien is a natural target at school. Shy, dyslexic, and small for his age, he tries to hide his first-grade reading level from everyone: from his classmates, from the grandfather who cares for him, and from the teachers who are supposed to help him. But the real trouble begins when Patrick is accused of attacking a school aide. The aide promptly quits and sues the boy, his family, and the school district. Patrick's grandfather turns to the law firm of Rosato & DiNunzio for help, and Mary DiNunzio is on the case.

The Advocate's Daughter: A Thriller

A Washington, DC, lawyer and a frequent major media commentator on the Supreme Court, Anthony Franze delivers a high-stakes story of family, power, loss, and revenge set within the insular world of the highest court of our country. Among Washington, DC, power players, everyone has secrets they desperately want to keep hidden, including Sean Serrat, a Supreme Court lawyer. Sean transformed his misspent youth into a model adulthood and now has one of the most respected legal careers in the country.

Home: Myron Bolitar Series, Book 11

A decade ago, kidnappers grabbed two boys from wealthy families and demanded ransom, then went silent. No trace of the boys ever surfaced. For 10 years their families have been left with nothing but painful memories and a quiet desperation for the day that has finally, miraculously arrived: Myron Bolitar and his friend Win believe they have located one of the boys, now a teenager. Where has he been for 10 years, and what does he know about the day, more than half a life ago, when he was taken?

Ricki says:"I have so missed Myron and Win and now they are back. Yeah"

Rasputin's Revenge

In Son of Holmes, John Lescroart introduced Auguste Lupa, reputed son of the greatest detective of all time... and possessor of a brilliant deductive mind in his own right. Now, in Rasputin’s Revenge, Lupa is summoned to the court of the Russian Czar - where, with a bit of unexpected assistance from none other than Holmes and Watson, he untangles a chilling plot that holds the Winter Palace in a lethal grip....

Between Black and White: McMurtrie and Drake Legal, Book 2

In 1966 in Pulaski, Tennessee, Bocephus Haynes watched in horror as his father was brutally murdered by 10 local members of the Ku Klux Klan. As an African American lawyer practicing in the birthplace of the Klan years later, Bo has spent his life pursuing justice in his father's name. But when Andy Walton, the man believed to have led the lynch mob 45 years earlier, ends up murdered in the same spot as Bo's father, Bo becomes the prime suspect.

Judgment Cometh (and That Right Soon): Joe Dillard Series, Book 8

In the eighth installment of Scott Pratt's best-selling Joe Dillard Series, Dillard is hired to represent the man driving the pickup. As Dillard delves into the case, he comes to believe his client is not guilty. But who is? Who has been kidnapping and killing judges all over the state of Tennessee? The search for that answer leads Dillard and his friend, Sheriff Leon Bates, down a path so dark and so dangerous to a villain so evil, it will change both Joe and Leon forever - if they manage to survive.

Memory Man

Amos Decker's life changed forever - twice. The first time was on the gridiron. A big, towering athlete, he was the only person from his hometown of Burlington ever to go pro. But his career ended before it had a chance to begin. On his very first play, a violent helmet-to-helmet collision knocked him off the field for good and left him with an improbable side effect - he can never forget anything.

Accused: Rosato & DiNunzio, Book 1

New York Times best-selling and Edgar Award-winning author Lisa Scottoline revolutionized crime fiction when she introduced her all-female law firm of Rosato & Associates, thrilling listeners with her twisty, fast-paced plots and capturing their hearts with her cast of strong and relatable female characters. Now Bennie Rosato, Mary DiNunzio, Judy Carrier, and Anne Murphy are back with all cylinders firing in Accused.

Outfoxed: An Andy Carpenter Mystery

Defense lawyer Andy Carpenter spends as much time as he can working on his true passion - the Tara Foundation, the dog rescue organization he runs. Lately Andy has been especially involved in a county prison program where inmates help train dogs the Tara Foundation has rescued to make them more adoptable, benefiting both the dogs and the prisoners. One of the prisoners Andy has been working with is Brian Atkins, who has 18 months left on a five-year term for fraud.

The Professor: McMurtrie and Drake Legal, Book 1

Law professor Thomas Jackson McMurtrie literally wrote the book on evidence in the state of Alabama. But when a power-hungry colleague uses a recent run-in between McMurtrie and headstrong student Rick Drake to end his career, he is left unsure what to do next.

Fool Me Once

Former special ops pilot Maya, home from the war, sees an unthinkable image captured by her nanny cam while she is at work: her two-year-old daughter playing with Maya's husband, Joe - who had been brutally murdered two weeks earlier. The provocative question at the heart of the mystery: Can you believe everything you see with your own eyes, even when you desperately want to?

The Kept Woman: Will Trent, Book 8

It's the most dangerous case of Will Trent's career. He knows this from the moment he sets foot in the abandoned Atlanta warehouse where a body lies on the floor - the body of an ex-cop. Bloody footprints leading away from the scene reveal that another victim, evidently a woman, was carried away and has vanished into thin air. And, worst of all, the warehouse belongs to the city's biggest and most high-profile athlete - a local hero protected by the world's most expensive lawyers.

The Verdict

Terry Flynt is a struggling legal clerk desperately trying to get promoted when he is given the biggest opportunity of his career: to help defend a millionaire accused of murdering a woman in his hotel suite. The only problem is that the accused man, Vernon James, is not only someone he knows but someone he loathes. This case could potentially make Terry's career, but how can he defend a former friend who betrayed him?

Publisher's Summary

When a brutal rapist is murdered, a loving father stands accused of the crime. Defense attorney Dismas Hardy must defend his brother-in-law and old friend Moses McGuire in a thrilling case that hits far too close to home.

Moses McGuire has good reason to be concerned about his beautiful 23-year-old daughter, Brittany. She moves quickly from one boyfriend to the next, and always seems to prefer a new and mysterious stranger to a man she knows something about. But her most recent ex, Rick Jessup, isn’t willing to let her go, culminating in a terrible night when Brittany is raped.

Within 24 hours, Rick Jessup is dead, Moses McGuire is the prime suspect in the investigation, and Dismas Hardy has been hired to defend his brother-in-law. Making things even more complicated, McGuire has fallen off the wagon, and his stay in prison could bring to light old secrets that would destroy Hardy and his closest colleagues’ careers.

As the overwhelming evidence against McGuire piles up, Dismas Hardy focuses on planting doubt in the minds of the jurors - until, in a feat of legal ingenuity that is staggering in both its implications and its simplicity, Hardy sees a new way forward that might just save them all. But at what price?

For the first time since 2009, Dismas Hardy, the author’s most beloved protagonist, returns in a masterful novel that showcases Lescroart’s extraordinary storytelling gifts: a cast of flesh-and-blood characters, morally complex situations, and relentless, nail-biting suspense.

I looked forward to listening to David Colacci's performance (always very well done) of John Lescoart's latest work The Ophelia Cut, and revisiting the many characters he has established so very well.

This book is not a stand alone work -- it is number 14 in the Dismas Hardy series (all books are available in Audible, thanks!) and the plot is linked to number 9, The First Law (which is difficult to listen to due to the reader and it would be good if it was re-recorded by Colacci).

I felt that The Ophelia Cut lacked some of the discipline and care of his previous books. So, what was happening to the author?

Tired? (I hope not -- I'm looking forward to his next novel!) My feeling is that he opted for easy answers to the plot lines that he initially established in his usual intriguing way, and as a result the resolution to the problems were not satisfying. Or was he being overly ambitious? Anyway, disappointly, the overlay of credibility was missing. And, apart from Hardy himself, he did not manage to create that deeply personal involvement with the protagonists that Lescroart normally develops so skilfully.

I have read most of the Dismiss Hardy series over the years and have enjoyed them. In this story Moses McGuire, Dismiss's brother in law, daughter Brittany is beaten then later raped by Rick Jessup. Hardy then has to defend Moses who is charged with the murder of Jessup. Lots of politics, family stress and Lt Abe Glitsky, Hardy's long time friend, is forced to retire from the police force. The defense has a few people as suspect but the judge will not let Hardy call them as witness. I will not spoil the story you will have to read it to find what happens. The ending sets up for the next book in the series. David Colacci is great narrating the story.

This is a full-on "mature" Dismas Hardy story. You get what you pay for and the value is good. This is a bit of a clean up story for Hardy fans who read and remember the over-the-top 'on the pier' shoot out where Abe, Dismas and Moses kill a lot of bad guys (six?) and SPLIT. (Only in SF.) Well, this story starts off with everyone worried that Moses is going to start talking six years after the fact and it goes on from there.

The Incident at the Pier is more or less central but so is the date rape of Franny's niece, who happens to be Moses's daughter who may or may not have murdered the man responsible. There seems to be an underlying premise that most fathers would want to murder a man responsible for the date rape of his beautiful and very sexually active twenty-something daughter. I doubt it's the attitude of most of those men or very many of those daughters.

Then, there's a muddled conclusion with muddled implications that should haunt Dismas for the rest of his life even though it was none of his doing. As I recall, Moses was kind of interesting as a philosopher bartender, but he doesn't wear well during his trial with either the other characters or with the reader.

Spoiler alert!I'd been waiting for a new Dismas Hardy novel from John Lescroart for too long a time, and when I saw this one available here on Audible.com, I jumped right on it. All I can say is it was a big let down. Only mildly entertaining. Unresolved plot elements. Weak and/or unlikeable characters (even my old time favorites). Brittany was a shallow, empty-headed bimbo till the end. And Tony... this jerk was a totally unnecessary distraction. I fail to see the purpose of his undeveloped character. I know he was a hit man, but was he really an ex-cop? Does it matter? Abe and Dismas were thin self-interested shadows of their former selves. I still don't know who killed Jessup. The reader is to believe it was probably/possibly the sex-trade guy and the county supervisor, but that red herring went nowhere. Thank goodness David Colacci was reading; otherwise this would have been a big "zero". This was not one of Lescroart's best efforts. Felt more like an outline of a possible novel.

I have long been a Lescroart fan and enjoy the Dismas Hardy and Abe Glitsky characters. I did not enjoy this book as well. I was annoyed with the trivialization of underage drinking, which he harped on extensively...while ironically also having a main character that is an alcoholic. I also found the excessive use of "Jesus Christ" as an expletive to be both annoying and offensive. And just overall felt the plot was weak and the plot resolutions either weak or non-existent. Definitely not his best, in my opinion.

Yes. I really enjoyed the Ophelia Cut. But, then, I like Thrillers. And Legal thrillers are great. There were more twists & turns & characters doing stupid things in this book but it was still enjoyable. It kept me listening into the wee hours because I couldn't figure out who the murderer was. Maybe I'll figure it out when I listen to it again. Dismas Hardy is one of my favorite characters - I've bought or read most of the books in the series. I'll keep on buying them as long as Audible keeps bringing them in.

Have you listened to any of David Colacci’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes. He performs a lot of the Lescroart books & does a very good job. I hope he becomes the ONLY performer in the rest of the series. His characters are believable & he's able to accurately pronounce all the technical terms & multisylabic words.

I'm listening to all of JL's books for the second time. They are close to the top of the 800+ audiobooks I've listened to. In the past four years. Each one leaves me thinking he can't possibly write another one better than this and I'm always proven wrong. I unfortunately can't recommend this book and all of the Hatdy/Glitsky/Hunt:/Roake novels higher than five stars. Every second gives so much pleasure.

Can’t say I loved it.The other reviews here give you an idea of the story. The book was certainly interesting enough: well-paced and engrossing. Still, there were several things I didn’t like. For one, Hardy and Glitsky were very mortal, and produced no brilliant stuff. Disappointing; I would have preferred Superman or at least for one of them to do something out of the ordinary. For another, the ending was weak. It was very plausible, but very ordinary for all that. There was a feeling of having been let down, of something left hanging. I have been looking for the next book to see if there is some sort of closure. Lescroart’s next book is “The Keeper” but (reading the publisher’s summary) I don’t think The Keeper provides this closure. There is a fair amount of courtroom, er, stuff, in The Ophelia Cut, but it's quiet. I wouldn't really call it "courtroom drama".

I have been a happily entertained reader of this series for about 25 years now, initially in print, and then for the last 7-8 years in audiobooks. It is fair to say that I have loved this work. The characters of Dismas Hardy, Abe Glitsky and their supporting crew have almost become real humans to me. It does help that I live and work in the same area, both geographically and professionally, as these people do, but really, that's not a big part of the appeal of the series. Mr. Lescroart and Mr. Colacci are a perfect combination, with complementary skills and genuine affection for their characters. One thing that really appeals to me is the fact that Dismas and Abe and the others have what seem to be real lives, with births and deaths and marriages and the range of complications that all of us live through during our brief stay here on planet Earth. It would take an encyclopedic review to attempt to give you the flavor of Mr. Lescroart's primary accomplishments. So, I won't attempt that. You would be happily advised to listen to many of the prior books. They are legal thrillers, and Part II is often a bit slow going, as we get to slog through the trials, but even when things begin to get a little boring, our entertainers come up with something new and quirky, or particularly knotty, or emotionally fraught.The Ophelia Cut (not a good title, which might be a warning) centers on the rape of a young woman and the apparent revenge killing of the man by the young woman's father, Moses McGuire. Of course Dismas represents Moses at the trial, and I won't be a spoiler here about the end of the book. But, the book can at times be forbiddingly complex, and it often assumes that the reader is aware of the details of a massacre involving a number of the main characters here. The group of allies (Hardy, Glitsky, D.A. Wes Farrell, attorney Gina Roake, deceased attorney David Freeman) keeps a volatile secret amongst them. The exposure of this secret threatens them all, providing an underpinning of drama and intrigue to which only some of us readers can relate. In this book we are introduced to a city supervisor (Liam Goodman, whose chief clerk is the victim of the murder) a new chief of SF police, a Korean gangster and trafficker of human flesh named John Lo) and others. The plot gets spread out among these people too far, so that it is hard to keep all the players identified without a scorecard, so to speak. At times I felt a curious mix between boredom and a genuine interest in knowing how things turn out. I could have lived without the boredom, for sure. I think this is another result of the convention by modern novelists to make their books last a standard 300-350 pages in print, or about 12-14 hours in audio. Many younger writers are now shuffling off this mandate, thank goodness. As the late, great Elmore Leonard said, "I leave out the parts that people tend to skip." All writers should have this byword as a sampler knitted and framed on the wall of their writing rooms. At the end of the book there is a true deus ex machina, which tries our patience a bit because it is implausible, and clearly a desperation move by the defense team. All along I had been thinking, Mr. Lescroart, you have been wildly successful, beyond your most outrageous dreams, but it is time to stop now. Shift gears. I know that he has done that for a couple of earlier books which I haven't read. I get the impression that they weren't as well received as the Hardy/Glitzky books. By this point in his career, the author must be in a position to take truly meaningful risks in doing what he does. I challenge you, Mr. Lescroart, little pipsqueak that I may be: And now it is time for something completely different.

I have read or listened to every one of the Dismas Hardy novels, along with most of John Lescroarts other books. In the past several novels there has been an absence of real substance. This book is written with the same zeal and character driven plot that his older books were and in that it excels. Its full of interesting little ethical questions and conundrums, along with a great story. You wont be disappointed with this book. Just like all of the other Hardy novels this one will twist and turn and throw you off your seat every time you think you've got something figured out.